US military success depends on tapping free market innovation to rapidly develop AI systems and outpace emerging threats.
Houthi Attacks Expose a Costly Gap
For the better part of two years, Houthi drone and missile attacks threatened commercial shipping and US naval assets in the Red Sea. And while Houthi attacks on US assets have subsided for the time being, US Central Command has raised the alarm that the current status quo in terms of recognizing and deterring these threats is unsustainable in the long term.
Not only is it not fiscally possible to continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on expensive countermunitions to take down cheap, mass-produced Houthi drones and missiles, but the US military currently lacks a means to develop the AI software needed to quickly locate and counter these attacks.
Funding Delays Hinder AI Progress
As part of its acquisitions process, the Department of Defense needs a way to be able to access different “colors” of money—the varied forms of funding, including research and development, procurement, operations and maintenance, and BA-8—at the speed of relevancy. The DOD needs to be able to quickly access each of the colors to use for AI development when and where it is needed most.
To develop critical AI architecture, we first need access to high-quality data and the software applications to process it. Unlocking varied forms of funding would accelerate private sector development of these essential tools.
The Free Market Can Move Faster
The good news is that this presents an opportunity for the DOD to lean into America’s number one comparative advantage: the free market industry. While adversaries like China use a top-down civil-military system to rapidly dictate development priorities, the US can empower leading software and defense firms to drive innovation in the AI systems our military needs to win future conflicts.
Opening access to each of the colors of money for AI software development incentivizes private firms to innovate. And with the tight budgetary restrictions our defense base is already operating under, we must pursue strategies like this to boost free market competition and ensure every taxpayer dollar counts.
AI Boosts Battlefield Awareness
Having the right AI systems in place is the key to bolstering battlefield awareness. Flexible and nimble AI means the military can utilize the data we have already acquired. For example, data collected on the best means to counter Houthi drone and missile attacks could be employed against threats stemming from other theaters, such as CCP hypersonic systems and maritime vessel dispositions in the Indo-Pacific.
This is where connected capabilities come into play, and if we do not pursue a more open acquisitions process for AI technology, components of our defense industry will remain siloed. The ways we “train” AI models should be seen as the same way that we train our servicemembers, through employing real-world experience and a holistic view of the realities on the ground. Therefore, access to data and the ability to rapidly develop new AI systems to utilize it will no doubt be the difference between victory and defeat in the future.
Information Dominance Will Win Future Wars
Tomorrow’s fight will be won not by the side with the best tools, but rather by the side with the best information and access to it. We need to be sending clear demand signals to private industry to develop the AI architecture needed to counter emerging threats. This is why I have authored the FAST Act, which aims to implement the previously mentioned concepts.
Without access to data and new software applications to make use of it, the US military will be slow on the draw when it is called upon to confront the varied, saturated threat environment that threatens US national security and regional stability now and in the future.
About the Author: Pat Fallon
Pat Fallon serves Texas’ Fourth Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. He is the chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Oversight & Accountability.
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